JP2020117346A - Control device and determination method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a control device and a determination method capable of preventing occurrence of failure of a post-processing device and preventing generation of useless paper.SOLUTION: A control device is disposed in an image forming system. The image forming system comprises: an image forming device for forming an image on a sheet; a cutting device which is disposed on a downstream side of the image forming device in the conveyance direction of the sheet, cuts the sheet having an image formed thereon, and divides the sheet into a plurality of divided sheets; and a post-processing device which is disposed on a downstream side of the cutting device in the conveyance direction of the sheet and executes the post-processing other than the cutting processing for the divided sheet. The control device has an acquisition unit for acquiring the number of divided sheets, and a determination unit for determining whether or not the post-processing should be executed according to whether or not the number of divided sheets falls within a limit range of the number of sheets set to the post-processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a control device and a judgment method.

In general, an image forming apparatus (printer, copier, facsimile, etc.) using electrophotographic process technology forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating (exposing) a charged photoreceptor with laser light based on image data. Form. Then, by supplying toner from the developing device to the photoconductor (image carrier) on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, the electrostatic latent image is visualized to form a toner image. Further, after the toner image is directly or indirectly transferred onto the sheet, the image is formed on the sheet by heating and applying pressure in the fixing device to fix the toner image.

In a recent image forming system including the above image forming apparatus, imposition for printing by imposing (allocating) a plurality of pages (for example, two pages of A4 paper) on one sheet (for example, A3 paper) Many of them have a printing function, and after cutting the paper printed using this imposition printing function with a cutting device (especially, a multi-cutting machine connected inline) and dividing it, There is a type that completes a booklet (final printed matter) by performing post-processing (for example, staple driving processing) with a post-processing device.

JP, 2006-103344, A

By the way, in the post-processing apparatus of the image forming system, there is a case where a limitation on the number of sheets to be processed (limited number of sheets) is set according to the specifications, the purpose of use, and the like. For example, in the staple driving process as the post-process, the maximum number of sheets that can be driven at one time is set to a predetermined number (for example, 50) and limited depending on the size of the stapler. In the case binding process as the post-process, the minimum number of sheets that can be subjected to the case binding process at one time is set to a predetermined number (for example, 20) and is limited.

However, in the above-described image forming system, the number of sheets on which an image is formed is different from the number of divided sheets cut and divided. Therefore, although the number of sheets on which an image is formed does not exceed the limit number (maximum number), the number of divided sheets may exceed the limit number (maximum number). In this case, there is a problem that the post-processing device is broken due to the post-processing being forcibly performed on the number of divided sheets exceeding the limit number (maximum number).

Although the number of sheets on which an image is formed does not exceed the limit number (minimum number), the number of divided sheets may be equal to or more than the limit number (minimum number). In this case, there is no problem, but if the number of divided sheets does not exceed the limit number (minimum number), the post-processing is performed on the number of divided sheets less than the limit number (minimum number), and the desired booklet is obtained. However, there is a problem that waste paper is generated because the paper cannot be created.

The technique described in Patent Document 1 is merely a technique for prohibiting the post-processing operation when a sheet having an inappropriate size is sent to a post-processing job such as a bookbinding process. You cannot solve the problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a control device and a determination method capable of preventing the occurrence of a failure of the post-processing device and the generation of waste paper.

The control device according to the present invention is
An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet,
A cutting device that is arranged on the downstream side of the image forming apparatus in the transport direction of the paper, performs cutting processing of the paper on which the image is formed, and divides the paper into a plurality of divided papers,
A post-processing device that is disposed on the downstream side of the cutting device in the sheet transport direction and that performs post-processing other than cutting processing on the divided divided sheets;
A control device provided in an image forming system including:
An acquisition unit for acquiring the number of divided sheets,
A determination unit that determines whether or not the post-processing can be performed, depending on whether or not the number of divided sheets is included in the limit number of sheets set for the post-processing,
Have.

The determination method according to the present invention is
An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet,
A cutting device which is arranged on the downstream side of the image forming apparatus in the transport direction of the paper, performs a cutting process on the paper on which an image is formed, and divides the paper into a plurality of divided papers,
A post-processing device that is disposed on the downstream side of the cutting device in the sheet transport direction and that performs post-processing other than cutting processing on the divided divided sheets;
A determination method in an image forming system comprising:
Obtain the number of divided sheets,
Whether or not to execute the post-processing is determined according to whether or not the number of divided sheets is included in the limit range of the number of sheets set for the post-processing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of failure of the post-processing device and the occurrence of waste paper.

It is a figure which shows roughly the whole structure of the image forming system in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the control system of the image forming system in this Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a control unit (image forming apparatus) in the present embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the warning screen in this Embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of image forming system 100 in the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of the entire control system included in the image forming system 100 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 100 includes an image forming apparatus 1, a cutting device 2 (multi-cutting machine), and a post-processing device 3, which are connected in order from the upstream side along the conveyance direction of the paper S. In the present embodiment, the cutting device 2 and the post-processing device 3 are connected inline.

The image forming apparatus 1 is an intermediate transfer type color image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process technique. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 primarily transfers the toner images of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) formed on the photosensitive drum 413 to the intermediate transfer belt 421. After the four color toner images are superposed on the intermediate transfer belt 421, the secondary transfer is performed on the long paper P fed from the paper feed unit 51 or the paper S fed from the paper feed tray units 51a to 51c. By doing so, an image is formed.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 1, the photosensitive drums 413 corresponding to the four colors of YMCK are arranged in series in the running direction of the intermediate transfer belt 421, and the toner images of the respective colors are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 421 by one procedure. The tandem system is adopted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an image reading unit 10, an operation display unit 20, an image processing unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a sheet conveying unit 50, a fixing unit 60, and a control unit 101. The control unit 101 corresponds to the “control device”, the “acquisition unit”, the “determination unit”, the “notification control unit”, and the “display control unit” of the present invention.

The control unit 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, and the like. The CPU 102 reads a program according to the processing content from the ROM 103, expands it in the RAM 104, and centrally controls the operation of each block of the image forming apparatus 1 in cooperation with the expanded program. At this time, various data stored in the storage unit 72 is referred to. The storage unit 72 is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (so-called flash memory) or a hard disk drive.

The control unit 101 transmits/receives various data to/from an external device (for example, a personal computer) connected to a communication network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) and a WAN (Wide Area Network) via the communication unit 71. To do. The control unit 101 receives, for example, image data transmitted from an external device, and forms an image on the paper S based on this image data (input image data). The communication unit 71 is composed of a communication control card such as a LAN card. The cutting control unit 201 of the cutting device 2 and the post-processing control unit 301 of the post-processing device 3 which will be described later are also connected to the control unit 101.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image reading unit 10 includes an automatic document feeder 11 called an ADF (Auto Document Feeder), a document image scanning device 12 (scanner), and the like.

The automatic document feeder 11 conveys the document D placed on the document tray by a conveyance mechanism and sends it to the document image scanning device 12. With the automatic document feeder 11, it is possible to continuously read the images (including both sides) of a large number of documents D placed on the document tray all at once.

The document image scanning device 12 optically scans a document conveyed from the automatic document feeding device 11 onto the contact glass or a document placed on the contact glass, and reflects light from the document on a CCD (Charge Coupled Device). ) The original image is read by forming an image on the light receiving surface of the sensor 12a. The image reading unit 10 generates input image data based on the reading result of the original image scanning device 12. The input image data is subjected to predetermined image processing in the image processing unit 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the operation display unit 20 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display) with a touch panel, and functions as a display unit 21 and an operation unit 22. The display unit 21 displays various operation screens, image states, operating states of each function, and the like according to a display control signal input from the control unit 101. The operation unit 22 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key, receives various input operations by the user, and outputs operation signals to the control unit 101.

The image processing unit 30 includes a circuit that performs digital image processing on input image data according to initial settings or user settings. For example, the image processing unit 30 performs the gradation correction under the control of the control unit 101 based on the gradation correction data (gradation correction table). Further, the image processing unit 30 performs various correction processing such as color correction and shading correction, compression processing, and the like on the input image data in addition to the gradation correction. The image forming unit 40 is controlled based on the image data that has been subjected to these processes.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 40 includes image forming units 41Y, 41M, and 41C for forming an image with each color toner of Y component, M component, C component, and K component based on input image data. , 41K, an intermediate transfer unit 42, and the like.

The image forming units 41Y, 41M, 41C, and 41K for the Y component, the M component, the C component, and the K component have the same configuration. For convenience of illustration and description, common components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and when distinguishing from each other, the reference numerals are appended with Y, M, C, or K. In FIG. 1, reference numerals are given only to the components of the image forming unit 41Y for the Y component, and reference numerals are omitted to the other components of the image forming units 41M, 41C and 41K.

The image forming unit 41 includes an exposure device 411, a developing device 412, a photosensitive drum 413, a charging device 414, a drum cleaning device 415, and the like.

The photoconductor drum 413 includes, for example, an undercoat layer (UCL: Under Coat Layer), a charge generation layer (CGL: Charge Generation Layer), a charge transport layer (on a peripheral surface of a conductive cylinder (aluminum tube) made of aluminum. It is a negative charge type organic photoconductor (OPC) in which CTL (Charge Transport Layer) is sequentially laminated.

The control unit 101 controls the drive current supplied to a drive motor (not shown) that rotates the photoconductor drum 413 to rotate the photoconductor drum 413 at a constant peripheral speed.

The charging device 414 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductive drum 413 having photoconductivity to a negative polarity. The exposure device 411 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser, and irradiates the photoconductor drum 413 with laser light corresponding to an image of each color component.

The developing device 412 is a two-component developing type developing device, and makes toner of each color component adhere to the surface of the photosensitive drum 413 to visualize the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image.

The drum cleaning device 415 has a drum cleaning blade or the like that is in sliding contact with the surface of the photoconductor drum 413, and removes transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum 413 after the primary transfer.

The intermediate transfer unit 42 includes an intermediate transfer belt 421, a primary transfer roller 422, a plurality of support rollers 423, a secondary transfer roller 424, a belt cleaning device 426, and the like.

The intermediate transfer belt 421 is an endless belt, and is stretched around a plurality of support rollers 423 in a loop. At least one of the plurality of support rollers 423 is a driving roller, and the others are driven rollers. For example, it is preferable that the roller 423A arranged downstream of the primary transfer roller 422 for the K component in the belt traveling direction is a drive roller. This makes it easy to keep the traveling speed of the belt at the primary transfer portion constant. The rotation of the driving roller 423A causes the intermediate transfer belt 421 to travel in the direction of arrow A at a constant speed.

The intermediate transfer belt 421 is a belt having conductivity and elasticity, and is rotationally driven by a control signal from the control unit 101.

The primary transfer roller 422 is arranged on the inner peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421 so as to face the photoconductor drums 413 of the respective color components. The primary transfer roller 422 is pressed against the photoconductor drum 413 with the intermediate transfer belt 421 sandwiched therebetween, so that a primary transfer nip for transferring a toner image from the photoconductor drum 413 to the intermediate transfer belt 421 is formed.

The secondary transfer roller 424 is arranged on the outer peripheral surface side of the intermediate transfer belt 421, facing the backup roller 423B arranged on the downstream side of the driving roller 423A in the belt traveling direction. The secondary transfer roller 424 is pressed against the backup roller 423B with the intermediate transfer belt 421 interposed therebetween to form a secondary transfer nip for transferring the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 421 to the sheet S.

When the intermediate transfer belt 421 passes through the primary transfer nip, the toner images on the photoconductor drum 413 are sequentially primary-transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 421 in an overlapping manner. After that, when the sheet S passes through the secondary transfer nip, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred to the sheet S. The sheet S to which the toner image is transferred is conveyed toward the fixing unit 60.

The belt cleaning device 426 removes transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 421 after the secondary transfer.

The fixing unit 60 includes an upper fixing unit 60A having a fixing surface side member arranged on the fixing surface of the paper S, that is, a surface on which a toner image is formed, a rear surface of the paper S, that is, a surface opposite to the fixing surface. The lower fixing unit 60B and the like having the rear surface side supporting member arranged is provided. When the back surface side support member is pressed against the fixing surface side member, a fixing nip for sandwiching and conveying the sheet S is formed.

The fixing unit 60 fixes the toner image on the paper S by heating and pressurizing the paper S that has been secondarily transferred with the toner image and conveyed at the fixing nip. The fixing unit 60 is arranged in the fixing device F as a unit.

The paper transport unit 50 includes a paper feed unit 51, a paper discharge unit 52, a transport path unit 53, and the like. The paper S (standard paper, special paper) identified on the basis of the basis weight, the size, and the like is stored in each of the three types of paper feed tray units 51a to 51c that configure the paper feed unit 51 for each preset type. .. The transport path portion 53 has a plurality of transport roller pairs including a registration roller pair 53a.

The sheets S stored in the sheet feed tray units 51a to 51c are sent out one by one from the top, and are conveyed to the image forming section 40 by the conveyance path section 53. In the image forming section 40, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 421 is secondarily transferred onto one surface of the sheet S at once, and the fixing section 60 performs a fixing step. The sheet S on which the image is formed is ejected to the outside of the machine by a sheet ejection unit 52 including a conveyance roller pair (paper ejection roller pair) 52a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cutting device 2 is a device that performs a cutting process on the paper S discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 and divides the paper S into a plurality of divided papers. A section 201, a cutting section 202, and a cutting/conveying section 203 are provided.

The cutting control unit 201 cooperates with the control unit 101 of the image forming apparatus 1 and is based on cutting processing setting information (corresponding to “setting information regarding cutting processing” of the present invention) included in the print job and set in advance by the user. Control the operation of the entire cutting device 2. The cutting process setting information uses, for example, an imposition printing function of imposing (allocating) and printing a plurality of pages (for example, two pages of A4 paper) on one paper (for example, A3 paper). Specific contents regarding the cutting process of the printed paper S are set.

The cutting unit 202 has a cutting blade for cutting the sheet S along the conveyance direction, performs a cutting process on the sheet S discharged from the image forming apparatus 1, and divides the sheet S into a plurality of divided sheets. To divide.

The cutting/conveying unit 203 has a plurality of roller pairs arranged in the conveying direction of the paper S, and cuts a plurality of divided sheets obtained by cutting the paper S discharged from the image forming apparatus 1 by the cutting unit 202. The sheets are sequentially conveyed outside the cutting device 2, that is, toward the post-processing device 3.

The post-processing device 3 is a device for performing post-processing such as punching processing, staple driving processing, folding processing, and case binding processing on the divided sheets, and includes a post-processing control unit 301, a post-processing unit 302, and a post-processing conveyance. And section 303. The case binding process is a process in which an adhesive is applied to the back surface of the sheet bundle of sheets to bond the sheet bundle to the cover sheet and wrap the sheet bundle with the cover sheet to create a booklet.

The post-processing control unit 301 cooperates with the control unit 101 of the image forming apparatus 1 to control the overall operation of the post-processing device 3 based on the post-processing setting information included in the print job and set in advance by the user. In the post-processing setting information, in addition to the presence/absence of post-processing and the type of post-processing, the number of processed sheets (limit number) is set according to the specifications of the post-processing apparatus 3, the purpose of use, and the like.

For example, in the staple driving process as the post-processing, the maximum number of sheets (limited number) that can be driven at one time is limited to a predetermined number (for example, 50) depending on the size of the stapler. That is, the limit range of the number of sheets (for example, 50 sheets or less) is set in association with the staple driving process.

Further, in the case binding process as the post-processing, the minimum number of sheets (the limit number) of the sheets that can perform the case binding process at one time is set to a predetermined number (for example, 20) and is limited. That is, a limit range for the number of sheets (for example, 20 or more) is set in association with the case binding process.

The post-processing unit 302 performs post-processing on the divided sheets that have been cut by the cutting device 2 and discharged.

The post-processing transport unit 303 has a plurality of transport roller pairs, and transports the divided sheets transported from the cutting device 2 toward the post-processing unit 302. The divided sheets transported by the post-processing transporting unit 303 are subjected to post-processing in the post-processing unit 302, and then discharged to the outside of the post-processing device 3 (paper discharging unit).

By the way, in the image forming system 100, the number of sheets S on which an image is formed is different from the number of divided sheets cut and divided. Therefore, although the number of sheets S on which an image is formed does not exceed the limit number (maximum number), the number of divided sheets may exceed the limit number (maximum number). In this case, there is a problem in that the post-processing apparatus 3 may fail due to the post-processing being forcibly performed on the number of divided sheets exceeding the limit number (maximum number).

Although the number of sheets on which an image is formed does not exceed the limit number (minimum number), the number of divided sheets may be equal to or more than the limit number (minimum number). In this case, there is no problem, but if the number of divided sheets does not exceed the limit number (minimum number), the post-processing is performed on the number of divided sheets less than the limit number (minimum number), and the desired booklet is obtained. However, there is a problem that wasted paper cannot be created.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 101 of the image forming apparatus 1 performs the cutting process to acquire the number of divided sheets and divides the divided sheets within the limit of the number of sheets set in the post-processing. Whether or not to execute the post-processing is accurately determined depending on whether or not the number of sheets is included.

An operation example of the control unit 101 (image forming apparatus 1) will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the process illustrated in FIG. 3 is executed, for example, after a print job (including cutting process setting information and post-processing setting information) is set and before an image forming process corresponding to the print job. Here, in the print job, an image is formed on the A3 size sheet S (30 sheets), the sheet S is cut, and the sheet S is divided into a plurality of (two) divided sheets (A4 size). It is a job to do.

First, the control unit 101 (acquisition unit) refers to the cutting process setting information of the print job, and acquires the number of divided sheets (60 sheets) after being divided by the cutting process (step S100).

Next, the control unit 101 refers to the post-processing setting information and determines whether the print job is set to perform the post-processing (step S120). If the result of determination is that execution of post-processing has not been set for the print job (step S120, NO), the control unit 101 ends the processing in FIG.

On the other hand, if execution of post-processing (for example, staple driving processing) is set for the print job (YES in step S120), the control unit 101 sets a limit range for the number of sheets in association with the post-processing. It is determined whether or not (step S140). As a result of the determination, when the limit range of the number of sheets is not set (step S140, NO), the control unit 101 ends the process in FIG.

On the other hand, when the limit range of the number of sheets is set (NO in step S140), the control unit 101 determines whether or not the limit range of the number of sheets includes the number of divided sheets (step S160). As a result of the determination, when the number of divided sheets (60 sheets) is included in the limited range of the number of sheets (for example, 70 sheets or less) (YES in step S160), the control unit 101 (determination unit) does not execute the post-processing. If it is possible, the process in FIG. 3 is terminated.

On the other hand, if the limited number of sheets (eg, 50 or less) does not include the number of divided sheets (60 sheets) (step S160, NO), the control unit 101 (determination unit, notification control unit, display control unit). Determines that the post-processing cannot be executed, and performs control to display (notify) a warning screen including warning information on the display unit 21 (step S180). After the processing of step S180 is completed, the control unit 101 ends the processing in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of the warning screen 110 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the warning screen 110 includes a warning message 120 as warning information (the number of discharged sheets after cutting (the number of divided sheets) is not included in the limit range). As a result, the user who sees the warning message 120 forcibly performs the post-processing (stapling process) on the divided sheets (60 sheets) exceeding the limit number (maximum number: 50), and thus the post-processing apparatus 3 It is possible to grasp the occurrence of the failure before the execution of the print job and take measures such as stopping the execution of the print job or changing the type of post-processing. In addition, the control unit 101 may perform control for notifying the warning information by a mode other than the display, such as voice or alarm.

In the present embodiment, warning screen 110 is provided with an operation button 130 for accepting a change message of post-processing by post-processing device 3 together with a guidance message (Do you want to change the post-processing?). By performing an operation of selecting the operation button 130 (Yes), the user changes the post-processing by the post-processing device 3 (for example, changing the staple driving processing to the binding processing or canceling the execution of the staple driving processing). be able to. As a result, the user recognizes that the post-processing device 3 may fail due to the post-processing being performed on the divided sheets that exceed the limit number, and then the post-processing device 3 performs the post-processing. Can be changed quickly. In addition, when the post-processing by the post-processing device 3 is not changed, the user performs an operation of selecting the operation button 140 (No). The warning screen 110 functions as the "change acceptance screen" of the present invention.

Next, referring to FIG. 3 again, the print job forms an image on the A3 size sheet S (10 sheets), cuts the sheet S, and prints a plurality of sheets S (2 sheets). An operation example of the control unit 101 (image forming apparatus 1) in the case of a job of dividing into divided sheets (A4 size) will be described.

First, the control unit 101 (acquisition unit) refers to the cutting process setting information of the print job, and acquires the number of divided sheets (20 sheets) divided by the cutting process (step S100).

Next, the control unit 101 refers to the post-processing setting information and determines whether the print job is set to perform the post-processing (step S120). If the result of determination is that execution of post-processing has not been set for the print job (step S120, NO), the control unit 101 ends the processing in FIG.

On the other hand, if execution of post-processing (for example, case binding processing) is set for the print job (YES in step S120), the control unit 101 sets a limit range for the number of sheets in association with the post-processing. It is determined whether or not (step S140). As a result of the determination, when the limit range of the number of sheets is not set (step S140, NO), the control unit 101 ends the process in FIG.

On the other hand, when the limit range of the number of sheets is set (NO in step S140), the control unit 101 determines whether or not the limit range of the number of sheets includes the number of divided sheets (step S160). As a result of the determination, when the number of divided sheets (for example, 20 sheets) is included in the limited number of sheets (for example, 20 sheets or more) (YES in step S160), the control unit 101 (determination unit) performs the post-processing. It is determined that execution is possible, and the processing in FIG. 3 is ended.

On the other hand, when the limited range of the number of sheets (for example, 30 sheets or more) does not include the number of divided sheets (20 sheets) (step S160, NO), the control unit 101 (determination unit, notification control unit, display control unit) Determines that the post-processing cannot be executed, and controls to display the warning screen 110 including the warning information on the display unit 21 (step S180). After the processing of step S180 is completed, the control unit 101 ends the processing in FIG.

The user who sees the warning message 120 (see FIG. 4) included in the warning screen 110 performs the post-processing (case binding processing) on the divided sheets (20 sheets) less than the limit number (minimum number: 30). By doing so, it is possible to grasp that there is a possibility that waste paper will occur because the desired booklet cannot be created, and then take action such as stopping the execution of the print job or changing the type of post-processing. Can take

As described above in detail, in the present embodiment, the control device (control unit 101) provided in the image forming apparatus 1 of the image forming system 100 divides the sheet S on which the image is formed by cutting the sheet S. Depending on whether or not the number of divided sheets is included in the acquisition unit that acquires the number of divided sheets and whether the number of divided sheets is included in the limit range of the number of sheets set for the post-processing to be performed on divided divided sheets And a determination unit that determines whether or not the process can be executed.

According to the present embodiment configured as described above, not the number of sheets S on which an image is formed but the number of divided sheets cut and divided is included in the limit range of the number of sheets set in the post-processing. Whether or not to execute the post-processing is determined depending on whether or not the post-processing is performed. As a result, the post-processing is executed even under various conditions in which the limitation of the number of processed sheets (the maximum number or the minimum number, which is the limited number) is different according to the division mode of the sheet S, the specifications of the post-processing apparatus 3, the purpose of use, and the like. Whether or not it can be accurately judged. For this reason, the post-processing device 3 may be damaged due to the forced post-processing of the divided sheets that exceed the limit number (maximum number), or the divided sheets below the limit number (minimum number) may not be printed. By performing the processing, it is possible to reliably prevent the generation of waste paper due to the failure to create a desired booklet.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the control unit 101 provided in the image forming apparatus 1 corresponds to the “control device” of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cutting control unit 201 provided in the cutting device 2 or the post-processing control unit 301 provided in the post-processing device 3 may correspond to the “control device” of the present invention.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which the warning screen 110 functions as the “change acceptance screen” of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, separately from the warning screen 110, a change reception screen for receiving a change in post-processing by the post-processing device 3 may be displayed.

In addition, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, only an example of the embodiment for carrying out the present invention is shown, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be limitedly interpreted by these. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or the main features thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 image forming apparatus 2 cutting apparatus 3 post-processing apparatus 10 image reading unit 20 operation display unit 21 display unit 22 operation unit 30 image processing unit 40 image forming unit 50 paper transport unit 60 fixing unit 71 communication unit 72 storage unit 100 image forming system 101 control unit 102 CPU
103 ROM
104 RAM
201 cutting control unit 202 cutting unit 203 cutting conveyance unit 301 post-processing control unit 302 post-processing unit 303 post-processing conveyance unit

Claims (8)

An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet,
A cutting device that is arranged on the downstream side of the image forming apparatus in the transport direction of the paper, performs cutting processing of the paper on which the image is formed, and divides the paper into a plurality of divided papers,
A post-processing device that is disposed on the downstream side of the cutting device in the sheet transport direction and that performs post-processing on the divided divided sheets;
A control device provided in an image forming system including:
An acquisition unit for acquiring the number of divided sheets,
A determination unit that determines whether or not the post-processing can be performed according to whether or not the number of divided sheets is included in the limit range of the number of sheets set for the post-processing,
Control device having a. The determination unit determines whether or not to execute the post-processing before forming the image,
The control device according to claim 1. The acquisition unit acquires the number of divided sheets by referring to the setting information regarding the cutting process,
The control device according to claim 1. When it is determined that the post-processing cannot be performed by the determination unit, the notification unit includes a notification control unit that performs control to notify the warning information,
The control device according to claim 1. When it is determined that the post-processing cannot be performed by the determination unit, a display control unit that performs control to display a change reception screen that receives a change in the post-processing by the post-processing device is provided.
The control device according to claim 1. The cutting device and the post-processing device are connected inline,
The control device according to claim 1. The control device is provided in the image forming apparatus,
The control device according to claim 1. An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet,
A cutting device that is arranged on the downstream side of the image forming apparatus in the transport direction of the paper, performs cutting processing of the paper on which an image is formed, and divides the paper into a plurality of divided papers,
A post-processing device that is disposed on the downstream side of the cutting device in the sheet transport direction and that performs post-processing on the divided divided sheets;
A determination method in an image forming system comprising:
Obtain the number of divided sheets,
Whether or not to execute the post-processing is determined depending on whether or not the number of divided sheets is included in the limit range of the number of sheets set for the post-processing,
Judgment method.

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